Welcome To The Questerre Energy HUB On AGORACOM

(Edit this message through the "fast facts" section)

Free
Message: What?

From LeDevoir,

French to English translation

Shale: environmentalists excluded from the assessment
8 of the 11 seats in the environmental assessment committee will go to industry and government officials
Louis-Gilles Francoeur May 13, 2011 Environment News

Photo: Jacques Nadeau - Le Devoir
The nominations were announced yesterday by the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, Pierre Arcand.
The business sector and senior officials representing the government will hold all eight of the eleven seats on the committee responsible for implementation of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on the relevance to exploit shale gas, on the modalities of operations and the legal framework for the industry.

The nominations were announced yesterday by the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, Pierre Arcand, 24 hours after France had totally banned the use of hydraulic fracturing to exploit shale gas and oil on itsterritory.

The minister, who is the head of the SEA has also unveiled the mandate of this study, which restrict the moment of fracturing projects in Quebec only to projects deemed necessary for the progress of the committee.

Contrary to what Quebec suggested in his letters to applicants, the committee's mandate will include a review of the "relevance of the socio-economic exploitation of the gas resource and the conditions ensuring maximization of revenue for the state." Further analysis of impacts and environmental risks, the committee will provide a clear definition of "thresholds of acceptability and appropriate methods of mitigation." Its work should also outline the regulations that oversee the Environmental Assessment may be submitted by manufacturers.

Two separate reports should be submitted, one on the results of the SEA, the other on legal and regulatory aspects. These documents, indicated yesterday Minister Arcand, "may be subject to some form of public consultation by the committee," where there are two representatives from Talisman and Junex, unmatched by cons for citizens and environmental groups even if are responsible for questioning the operation precipitous shale gas in Quebec, deplored yesterday the representative of the collective scientific shale gas, Lucie Sauvé.

Mr. Arcand has also decided that "any certificate of authorization shall be subject hydraulic fracturing to the needs of knowledge" of the committee responsible for the SEA, which may recommend or not to authorize the Department projects submitted.

The committee will submit a first annual progress report May 1, 2012, in which he will clarify when he sees his term.

Composition controversial

The committee of eleven people have three senior officials. It will be chaired by Robert Joly, head of industrial projects in the North and the MDDEP. There are also Sébastien Desrochers, Director of the Office of hydrocarbons in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife (MNR), the sponsoring department of such exploitation. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs for its part, delegate Lucie Ramsay, consultant regional development.

The private sector, it will have five representatives. It contains the names of Jean Perras, the firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, and Pierre Boucher, a civil engineer who works as a private consultant in renewable energy and who chaired the Cement Association of Canada.

The industrial gas shale, which is supposed to oversee the study, are also directly represented by Jean-Yves Lavoie, engineer and co-founder and president of Junex.It is also registered as a lobbyist. André Caillé, that derailed the consultations early last fall by the industry, is also a member of its board of directors.

Marianne Molgat, geologist, working on his side for Talisman Energy. She is also registered as a lobbyist for the company, which has 13 to help guide government policy. This is also the company that pays the salary of Lucien Bouchard as President of the Association of Quebec oil and gas. She also scooped a notice of violation of the Environment.

The shale gas industry currently has 35 lobbyists in his service, according to the provincial registry.

Finally, a large private industrial group, or industry consultants and Industry Sanitation and Waste Management, will have the chance to be represented on this committee by its chairman, Michel Lamontagne. Mr. Lamontagne was the first president of the BAPE and was responsible for major environmental issues in the ministries of Environment in Quebec City and Ottawa.

In the spirit of Quebec, Mr. Lamontagne does not, however, represents the industry, but "civil society". The other representative of civil society is a renowned academic, Corinne Gendron, who chairs the Chair at UQAM in social and environmental responsibility. His nomination was submitted by the National Coalition of regional councils for the Environment, who said he was pleased with the launch of the SEA.Quebec could have included Ms. Gendron in the group of representatives called "academic". This group is rather represented by Michel Malo, a geologist who teaches at the Centre Water, Earth and Environmental INRS, William and John Molson, assistant professor of geology and geological engineering at Laval University.

For the collective scientific shale gas, no representatives of environmental groups and citizens, who led the debate on shale gas, "shows once again how far the government maintains to citizens, who are yet the heavy burden of proof of the inadequacy of this high-risk project which could have offset the actors from the outset in favor of the gas industry in the committee. "

The scholars, the group is concerned that the two experts are selected from the same discipline, or geology. The group would have liked more information about their links with the private sector as sources of research funding and experience in environmental science to be sure of their ability to integrate social and environmental concerns.
shale gas

Share
New Message
Please login to post a reply